


Adjusting

by nightwalker



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: Domestic, Episode Tag, Established Relationship, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:54:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28146432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightwalker/pseuds/nightwalker
Summary: It's going to take a little while to adjust to the changes.
Relationships: Cody Allen/Nick Ryder
Comments: 9
Kudos: 12
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Adjusting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tinx_r](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinx_r/gifts).



Cody knew he was dreaming.

He could tell sometimes. He’d look up at the soldier beside him and think _Bill Patterson caught a sniper bullet in the skull two days after I met him_ and know what he was seeing wasn't real. It did nothing to reduce the thick ball of anxiety in his stomach, and only fed the sense of dread. It was the memory of the jungle and knowing that whatever was going to happen next probably had been real at some point.

He heard Nick calling him, from somewhere far away, and his heart began to pound.

The jungle was thick and hot, he could barely move through it. The air itself was pushing against him, slowing him down. He slogged through it, heading toward the sound of Nick’s voice. 

The call was getting louder now, but not because he was closer. No matter how much he pushed forward the trees didn’t change. But Nick’s voice was getting frantic. Afraid. “Cody!”

 _Nick_. His mouth wouldn’t move even as he tried to scream his friend’s name. His lungs burned for air as he tried to push his way through the jungle. 

Heard something in the distance. Metallic and light. Like the pin on a grenade being pulled. 

And Nick fell silent.

* * *

Cody woke up with a scream caught in his throat and his heart slamming against the inside of his ribs.

Nick shifted in his arms, making a soft, inquisitive sound. Cody pressed his lips to the back of Nick’s shoulder and Nick subsided almost instantly, going still in Cody’s embrace with a soft sigh.

Cody lay there for a long moment, letting his heartbeat slow down and his nerves recover. His neck ached a little from being in one position all night, and his lower back was making its opinion known. The bunks were too small to share, but it was worth it to be able to be close to Nick. 

He tightened his arms a little, dragging in a deep breath that was all Nick with just a hint of salt air and a whiff of coffee. His chest and stomach were hot and coated in sweat where he was pressed against Nick’s back, and for a moment he remembered the stifling heat of his dream before firmly pushing it away. Vietnam was far away, and he was safe here, just him and Nick and the Riptide.

He let his breath out in a slow exhale, tension easing out of his shoulders as he curled himself tighter around Nick. It was still early and they had nowhere to be today. There was no reason he couldn’t stay here a little longer, listening to Nick breathe, feeling the gentle rocking of the boat.

He heard the sound again. The metallic clink from his dreams.

His eyes snapped open and he tensed, twisting his head around to scan the stateroom. They were alone, and he hesitated for a moment, listening for a repeat of the sound. A long moment passed before he let himself relax - it was just a lingering part of the dream, popping back up as he was drifting off. That’s all it was.

Nick shifted, sleep disturbed by Cody’s sudden tension. He blinked sleepily up at Cody, unalarmed. “What is it?”

That did more to ease Cody’s nerves than anything else could have. Nick was always the first one to know when they were being watched. Even asleep he seemed to know when they were in trouble. It had saved their asses more than once in Vietnam.

“Bad dream,” Cody said. He pressed his palm over Nick’s stomach, curled his fingers into the trail of dark hair that led south. “Go back to sleep.”

Nick covered Cody’s hand with one of his and gently pushed it lower. “Don’t wanna,” he said. 

Cody huffed a laugh and obliged Nick, skimming his hand lower, fingers stroking over the soft skin of Nick’s stomach until he brushed against the coarser hair of his groin. 

Nick groaned, low and deep and it sounded a lot like Cody’s name. He rocked his hips back, pushing his ass up against Cody’s dick before rocking forward into Cody’s hand. “Not a bad way to wake up,” he said. He tilted his head back and up, asking for Cody’s mouth, which Cody was happy to oblige. The kiss was slow, unhurried, and broken by a ragged moan as Cody’s hand closed around Nick’s half-hard cock.

They didn’t do this a lot, but when they did they fit together like puzzle pieces, moved together like dancers who’d nailed the choreography. Cody knew Nick’s body almost as well as his own and Nick knew his just as intimately. No self-consciousness, no awkward fumbling, just the two of them giving and taking the way they always had.

The clinking sound came again, from upstairs, followed almost immediately by the creak of the boards as someone walked toward the stairs with measured, deliberate steps.

Cody all but flung himself off the bed, scrambling for his gun. He heard Nick swear under his breath, but when Cody glanced back at him, Nick was just sitting up in his bunk, sheet pulled up to cover his lap. 

Nick blinked at him, startled to see the gun. “What-”

“Someone’s on the boat,” Cody hissed. He could hear footsteps on the stairs now. Whoever it was seemed to be making an attempt to be quiet, but Cody knew every creak of his boat. He positioned himself so he was blocking Nick from anyone coming through the door. “Stay behind me.” 

“Someone -” Nick cursed, and Cody heard him moving. “Cody, _wait_ -”

Whoever it was paused outside the door just as Nick scrambled off the bed and slid between Cody and the door, blocking his aim. Cody jerked the gun aside so it wasn’t pointed at his partner, heart pounding in his ears.

Someone knocked on the door. “Guys? Are you awake?”

It took a second for the hushed voice to penetrate, and a second longer for Cody to realize he recognized it. “Murray,” he said. 

Nick gave him a crooked smile. “Our new roomie, remember?” He raised his voice. “Hold on a sec, Murray!”

Cody snapped the safety back on and hurriedly stashed the gun. He grabbed the pair of shorts Nick tossed at him and barely had time to pull them on before Nick opened the door.

Murray Bozinski beamed at them from the doorway. “I made coffee!” he exclaimed, holding out two mugs. The aroma of coffee filled the stateroom, and Cody realized he’d been smelling it since he woke up.

Nick took the mugs and passed one to Cody. The spoon clinked against the side of the mug as he did, and Cody recognized the sound from his dream.

It made sense, he thought ruefully as he blew away some of the steam. He’d heard Murray moving around and his subconscious had taken the unfamiliar sounds and run with it. “Thanks, Murray.”

“I’m so stoked, guys.” Murray pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Sleeping on a houseboat is _boss_. The rocking motions, while minute, were extremely disorienting. I almost threw up multiple times.”

Cody blinked, then glanced at Nick who was clearly hiding a grin behind his mug. “Sorry to hear that. It gets better,” he offered. “Once you get used to it. Nick didn’t love it at first either.”

“It’s kind of relaxing now,” Nick conceded. 

“It’ll be an interesting study to see how long it takes my body to make the adjustment.” Murray looked thoughtful. “In the meantime I’m going to stock up on seasickness remedies.”

“Probably a good idea,” Cody said. “Sorry your first night was so rough.”

“Well, since I was up anyway, I thought I’d make coffee for my new partners.” Murray pushed his glasses back up his nose. “I have a delivery scheduled for ten am, to start moving the rest of my equipment in. Do you guys have clients today?”

“Nope, free and clear.” Nick took a sip of his coffee and almost gagged. “Oh, wow. That is… still really hot,” he finished weakly. He gave Cody a warning glance. “Do you need help with your stuff?”

“No, the movers are professionals who are used to handling delicate electronics. It’s probably best to let them handle it. It might take a little while though, I apologize if it’s an inconvenience.” He trailed off a little and looked sheepish. “I really should have asked you guys before I scheduled it but I was so excited…”

“Don’t worry about it, Murray.” Cody sat down on the edge of his bunk. “Me and Nick were planning on kind of a lazy day anyway. We’ll probably just stay out of your way until it’s done. But let us know if you need a hand with anything.”

“I will, thanks guys!” Murray lingered for another moment, going on about some wires he wanted to run and a backup generator he wanted to install and how many surge protectors he was going to buy. He didn’t end the conversation so much as he wandered off while still listing things he needed to do.

“We gotta teach Murray how to make coffee,” Nick said once Murray’s footsteps had gone back up to the salon. “Don’t drink that, you’ll get cramps.”

Cody set the mug down on the floor beside his bed. “I can’t believe I pulled a gun on Murray.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Nick said. “You were barely awake, and you said yourself that you had a rough dream. It’s hard to get your equilibrium back after that. It won’t happen once we get used to someone else moving around on the boat.” 

It didn’t really make Cody feel better about the situation, but he had to admit Nick had a point. “Do you think he… suspected anything?”

Nick gave him a weird look. “You mean about us?”

“We made him wait before coming in, and we’re still only in our underwear,” Cody pointed out. “And my bed definitely hasn’t been slept in.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Nick said ruefully. “Damn. Well, if he did notice anything he didn’t seem to care.” 

Nick’s indifference to discovery surprised Cody a little. Normally he was a lot more guarded about this part of their friendship. But then, Murray was a friend. And if they were going to live with the guy, it would be hard to hide this forever.

“We should be careful to be quiet, though,” Cody said. He pushed himself up to his feet and crossed the space between them, reaching out to rest his hands on Nick’s hips. “We should practice,” he said, and waited until Nick laughed to lean in and capture that laugh with his lips.


End file.
